The Esports Championship Series Season 3 playoff is ready to begin with Cloud9, SK Gaming, FaZe Clan and Astralis. Cloud9 and SK Gaming are the first ones to advance with a 2-0 showing in the group stages. After a hard fought series, FaZe Clan and Astralis were able to breakthrough and secure their spots in the semifinals.

Esports Championship Series Season 3 Group Stages Recap

Group A

Group A was more definitive in the outcome of the matches. OpTic Gaming were no bother for the other teams in the group. They had dropped 3 games rather quickly to begin. SK Gaming were able to prevail against G2 Esports on Cache with a 16-7 scoreline.

SK Gaming fought FaZe Clan in the winner’s column and showed a strong start on T side with a 10-5 halftime lead. The map was on train, which is still manageable, but the game turned quickly as SK Gaming took another fast start and won the match 16-8. G2 Esports quickly ran through OpTic Gaming in a best of 3 series with 16-5 on overpass and 16-6 on inferno.

FaZe Clan and G2 Esports was the match to look forward to in day 2 as both teams are perceived to have the same ability. G2 Esports got to a fast start in overpass. They won the first 5 rounds and build a strong economy. FaZe Clan took their first round and traded rounds to end the half. “NiKo” was playing great and was the MVP of match.

FaZe got back with 5 straight rounds in the second half. They found their rhythm and only dropped 2 rounds in the second half and ultimately won the map 16-10. The next map on train was more of the same as FaZe Clan looked better and traded rounds more efficiently. It was more of a team effort as all players equally contributed with “karrigan” leading the charge. They won 16-11 and advanced to the semifinals

Group B

The group started off with Cloud9 winning a one sided affair against fnatic. The win was impressive and the 16-8 scoreline was a bit of a shock. Fnatic has dug themselves in a big hole lately.

Astralis was able to win against Team Liquid 16-11 on inferno. Cloud9 faced Astralis for the 1st spot in the semifinals. Astralis took the big lead at half with 10-5 on mirage. Cloud9 were able to make a comeback in the second half even after losing to an anti eco earlier in the half. They were even able to take the lead being the one to reach 15 wins with match point. Astralis forced OT but all the momentum was on Cloud9’s side. Cloud9 took the next 4 rounds in OT to secure the win 19-15.

Team Liquid were able to make quick work of fnatic in their wins. They won 16-6 twice with one on mirage and one on inferno. Team Liquid has certainly secured being the 2nd best NA team in the scene with their recent showing in tournaments.

They faced Astralis next and started off horridly. They lost the first map on train 16-4 to Astralis but they got back and managed to take the next map on overpass with a very strong T side. Astralis would take the next map convincingly with a 16-10 scorile. Astralis took the last 8 rounds of the last match to secure their spot to the semifinals

Esports Championship Series Season 3 Playoff Predictions

SK Gaming (1.594) vs Astralis (2.172)

The odds for this match is skewed towards SK Gaming. Astralis is no push over team, even with SK Gaming accumulating trophy after trophy. SK Gaming were certainly impressive against G2 Esports and FaZe Clan and is looking to build on that all the way to the top. Astralis did not start off as dominating as SK Gaming did but they ended the group stages on a high note. Astralis would need to have “g1aive” and “device” start off strong as “FalleN” and “coldzera” are always consistent to show up for their team. The match will obviously favour SK Gaming and thats what we predict in our Esports Championship Series season 3 playoff preview.

SK Gaming wins 2-1

Cloud9 (2.806) vs FaZe Clan (1.336)

It is a bit odd as to why Cloud9 has been performing so well in group stages and have been advancing shockingly to the playoffs from time to time. They even finished seeded first in the ECS – North America. They were actually great with a combination of a rough outing from fnatic and Astralis. Even after all that, they are still heavy underdogs to start the semifinals. They will definitely need a repeat performance from ‘autimatic’ who was great in their overtime win against Astralis. FaZe Clan will have “karrigan” and “NiKo” already stringing great games and the skill level is widening even more. They should have no trouble with Cloud9. Our Esports Championship Series season 3 playoff prediction is an easy one.